Hhhhhmmmmm......about a month ago they had pork roast $1.47lb. They had "1". I got it. There was a "meat" shortage the minute they shut everything down. It can only get worse....but... how about fish!? Plenty of that.

I prefer fish, and so I'm glad there is plenty of that!

I would be afraid to buy pork or ham at this time, unless it was from Denmark.

Much of the fish comes from trawlers and is then processed either on the boat or on land. If on land eventually the processing plants may also be closed for the same reason. Expect much higher food prices and shortages for the rest of the year and next until this thing works it's way though the world.

Edited to add that canned meat of various types such as the pork/ham from Denmark along with other foods in a can should be safe because of the temperatures that are used to process them.

I'm going grocery shopping on Monday and was planning to buy a pork roast to make tamales. If they don't have pork, I have a beef chuck roast in the freezer I can use instead.

We're having BBQ pork ribs for dinner tonight and decided to cut the rack in half and put one half in the freezer for a future dinner. While I like having a few leftover ribs, I will be glad we did that if we do end up having a shortage of pork.

I'm going to have to check the pork supply out next time I go to the store. I was there yesterday , but didn't need any meat so I didn't notice when I walked past the meat department.

Last time I was out shopping at Trader Joe's a long time ago, it seems, I bought some salmon. When I went to Costco later I bought salmon patties and scallops. All are still in my freezer and I probably should start eating those.

Didn't Smithfield relocate their processing facilities to China a few years ago? I stopped buying their hams, bacon, etc. when they did that. Didn't know the fresh pork was coming from there, too. I have been buying the whole loins at Sam's and cutting them up into whatever chops and roasts that I want and freezing them. I just used the last of the pork chops and now I'm down to a very small hunk for braising.

All of the stores I shop around here carry locally raised and processed meat, for the most part. I would never buy meat or chickens that come from those plants anyway...pretty sure we won't have a shortage, but maybe prices will rise? Not sure why they would, though.

"Didn't Smithfield relocate their processing facilities to China a few years ago?"

I don't believe so. I think the US exports meat to China, not the other way around.

A Chinese company purchased Smithfield not quite 10 years ago. However many of the owners were Americans pocketed the profit on that acquisition along with others, if any. I don't think production facilities have left the US.

There is one in Souix Fall SD and they had to close it because there was so many cases of people who worked there.

The store that DH likes to go to (I don’t) carried Smithfield but he never bought it. When he was there the other day, there was less pork but it was all local. And looked much better.

Daisyfield (J.H. Routh Packing) is the popular brand in Central Ohio and there's a plentiful supply of pork products. We have a few pork roasts in freezer and since we don't eat it often, it'll last us through the summer.

Was at the grocery store this morning and there seemed to be plenty of pork or pork products available. In fact, pork loins and pork chops were on sale! No shortage with any chicken or ground beef, either. Still a little sparse on the paper goods, cleaning and baking supplies aisles but there was product....just not a lot.

There is a pork plant about an hour from us in the SE Iowa area that has been closed due to Covid 19. Just this week a pork plant about 25 miles from us in Illinois has been infected with Coronavirus. I've not heard of them closing yet but thinking that will happen.

No shortage of meat at my grocery store either, but it seems the prices are higher. It's all bought locally too and processed at the store by their butchers.

One of the plants that is closed in this area processes hams so no the processing did not move to China. There was a news article that mentioned one grower had 3,000 pigs that were supposed to go to the plant in SD that feeds the Martin City ham plant.

No shortage of pork where I shop here in SoCal. Same for chicken, beef and lamb. Have not noticed a change in prices. Yesterday I bought a couple pork tenderloins and a pork shoulder roast. It's also getting much easier to find TP.

chloebud, are you at an inland or coastal location? Re TP.

Inland...just east of Pasadena.

Thanks. I'm coastal and a bit more south, TP may be seen in stores (I don't know, we're not going into any) but can't be ordered.

I bought a large pork sirloin at Sam's Club on Friday. I usually wait for them to go on sale, but sprung for this with the problems at the Smithfield plant. I cut the pork sirloin into chops and will use big pieces for pulled pork in the crock pot.

I have no Idea what the meat situation is here, since I haven't been anywhere for six weeks. Fortunately, we have several beef, pork and chicken producers and processors within the state, so it may not be as bad as some states.

Be careful what fish you buy, and always check the package for country of origin. We stopped buying any fish from China years ago when we heard about their fish farming practices.

"We stopped buying any fish from China years ago when we heard about their fish farming practices."

Much of the farmed seafood from Southeast Asia, not just China, is farmed in environmentally damaging ways.

Farmed shrimp (prawns), tilapia, catfish, and other varieties are more healthful and beneficial from other sources than from the likes of China, Thailand, Vietnam, et al.

We went to Safeway this weekend. Tons of meat. Chicken was on sale .97lb. At Dollar Tree: toilet paper was FULLY stocked, limit of 4. Hand sanitizer was still OUT. (I keep several on hand, we never ran out). But........Lowes AND Home Depot had lines waiting to go in. We've NEVER seen those stores so busy! WOW!!!!!

Elmer - for some reason I always thought you were in NorCal. So I learned something today! We’re in North OC.

Seldom do the various meat processors and growers sell to their immediate areas. Because of regulations most can not sell directly to the public. This is why at least in this area restaurants have been allowed to sell what they receive directly to the public as uncooked food. It allows the growers/processors a market where in normal times it would be unused.

1929spanish, I'm flattered you'd notice something like that.

While I'm a SoCal native, I spent the majority of my working career in the Bay Area, where I still live. Kind of. We have a second house in coastal SoCal and we were here on a visit when the Stay Put situation began. So we're down here and staying put for now, I don't know for how long. I hope you and yours are safe and as comfortable as the situation allows.